"...the subject which will be of most importance politically is Mass Psychology. ... The populace will not be allowed to know how its convictions were generated. ... As yet there is only one country which has succeeded in creating this politician’s paradise.” - Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society, 1960.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Blogger who Threatened to Kill Judges was an on the FBI Payroll

A U.S. judge ordered white supremacist blogger Harold "Hal" Turner of of North Bergen sent to Chicago on charges of threatening to kill three federal jurists.

The judge denied Turner bail, noting that FBI agents said they found 200 rounds of ammunition and 150 illegal hollow-point bullets while arresting him at his North Bergen home yesterday. "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These Judges deserve to be killed,” Turner wrote on his website.

Earlier this week, the 47-year-old former radio personality was arraigned in Hartford on charges of advocating assaulting state legislators in Connecticut.

In the Chicago case, his postings included photographs, phone numbers, work address and room numbers of these judges, along with a photo of the building in which they work and a map of its location.

“We take threats to federal judges very seriously. Period,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

According to the charging document, several lawsuits were filed challenging handgun bans in Chicago and suburban Oak Park after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the Second Amendment entitles handguns at home for self-protection.

On June 2, 2009, the 7th Circuit approved a district court’s decision to dismiss the cases challenging the local handgun bans. The unanimous decision was written by Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and Judges Richard Posner and William Bauer, of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

That same day, Turner titled a post on his homepage: “OUTRAGE: Chicago Gun Ban UPHELD; Court says ‘Heller’ ruling by Supreme Court not applicable to states or municipalities!”

After describing the decision, a lengthy entry followed, which federal authorities included in their documents.

Turner noted that that it was the same 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that decided the case of Matt Hale, a white-supremacist who was imprisoned after being convicted of soliciting the murder of a federal judge in Chicago.

The entry further noted that the same judge’s mother and husband were murdered by a gunman in her home. The posting then stated:

“Apparently, the 7th U.S. Circuit court didn’t get the hint after those killings. It appears another lesson is needed.”

Turner didn't stop there.

The next day, this post followed: “Judges official public work addresses and a map of the area are below. Their home addresses and maps will follow soon. Behold these devils.”

Below that headline, Turner listed the names, photos, phone numbers, work addresses and room numbers of the three judges involved in the handgun decision, as well as a photo of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago and a map.

The photo of the building had been modified to include arrows and a label referencing “Anti-truck bomb barriers,” according to the federal authorities.

White supremacist North Bergen blogger Harold "Hal" Turner, who is charged with threatening to kill three federal judges, was an FBI informant who once gave authorities intelligence about "the potential assassination of President Obama," his lawyer told a magistrate in Chicago today.